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- Aug 6, 2016
Today our teatime looks at the ladies of Texas and how they coped with life during the war as they watched some 65,000 of their men march off to fight. That number constituted almost 10% of the population for the entire state. When the men exchanged civilian clothes for gray, they left behind their wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters to hold down the home front.
Mollie Fanning Mann (1846-1894) was a young wife with an infant son when her husband, Rufus (1832-1909) marched off to Arkansas to begin his military service. Her husband had been a teacher at the local academy and therefore she had to deal with less money coming in to help with family finances. Now Mollie has the responsibility for the household duties once handled by her husband. Soon she faced the struggles that were to come when the Union blockades limited the items needed to help feed her family and provide medicines when it was necessary.
Mollie was not alone in her challenges. Although most of the ladies in Texas never saw one soldier in blue during the war, they were aware of their presence. Such items as pins, needles and candles were no longer available. Information was difficult to come by as newspapers were gradually forced to close their doors as even paper to print became scarce. They were unable to get basics such as shoes and salt which went to their soldiers.
"I pray the Lord to take care of you and keep and guard you from every evil and danger and one day restore you to your ever loving and devoted Mollie" {3} she wrote her husband as she tried to maintain normalcy.
Not only were things difficult at home, now the state was in dire need of raising money and there was only one place they looked: the citizens through taxes. And tax they did! One county in Texas asked citizens to contribute 10% of their produce to the war effort but this did little to satisfy the demands of young, fighting men. Then came the human cost of war, the care of the sick and the wounded. New property and poll taxes were established to help carry the load. When that did not bring in enough money, they instituted an income tax on merchants and eventually a tax on anything they could from professional services to distilling. These costs eventually made their way to the impoverished citizens making commerce difficult and expensive.
By October of 1863, Mollie was grateful for her harvest however she was complaining of the high prices. She kept busy, as many of the other women did, with canning and preserving as much of her crop.
Because of the lack of proper medical care, an illness like whooping cough or the measles would strike and rapidly spread through the town. So concerned was Mollie she worried for her young son William "Wirt" born in July of 1862, when she detailed this incident of 1864:
"Mrs. Dyer has just returned from a meeting where her child was exposed to measles and whooping cough which terrifies me very much. Wirt would stand a poor chance to get well of measles now and whooping cough would doubtless continue in the family until fall which I would consider certain death to all newcomers…. I am in very poor plight this morning to write at all." {3}
As the war continued, Texans faced many hardships, yet with their Confederate patriotism, and pride of Texas, the women proved to be resilient in this time of difficulty. The" Southern Defense Aid Society" was formed by the women of San Antonio, and with great enthusiasm as many as eight hundred and fifty residents kept busy with their needles and material making regimental flags, banners, and uniforms for their Confederate soldiers.
However, there were times when life proved to be a challenge for the ladies. Most of the Texas schoolhouses were no longer open and educating their children. The locals also observed with no men at home to hunt there was an abundance of birds, squirrels and deer competing for what little harvest the farmers were able to bring in.
In some areas outlaws and bandits roamed over the land. Cities such as Austin and Houston at times relied on "vigilante justice" to stop crime whether they agreed or disagreed with that system of justice. In Tyler a mob stormed the courthouse and lynched four bandits. {1} As the conditions deteriorated, when soldiers heard the news from home, they were eager to return as soon as possible even if it meant deserting the army.
Perhaps the hardest burden for Mollie and other Texas ladies was the constant concern their husbands would never return home. With poor communications, it would take time to get word of a death leaving loved ones in a state of hope and dread. Mollie writes what many others had written when her own wish was "to have him returned to her unharmed". Her wish came true, others were not as blessed.
"On November 24, 1863, the Texas Legislature passed a Joint Resolution stating that the government pledged 'support and maintenance of [the soldiers'] families during their absence from home'. In accordance with this Resolution, an 'Act to Support the Families and Dependents of Texas Soldiers' passed on December 15, 1863. The Act set aside $1,000,000 annually to be paid the 'families, widows, and dependents of soldiers currently serving in State or Confederate forces, or of soldiers killed or disabled in service'." {4}
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Sources
1. ww.tsl.texas.gov/exwhibits/civilwar/1864_1.html
2. https://www.caller.com/story/news/2018/11/26/union-forces-under-nathaniel-banks-invaded-texas-1863/2096110002/
3. https://medium.com/save-texas-histo...texas-women-during-the-civil-war-a1bc1f59b979
4. Confederate Indigent Families Lists (1863-1865) | TSLAC (texas.gov)
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